Cox's Cave

Cox's Cave is in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is open to the public as a show cave.

Cox's Cave
Stalagmites and Stalactites in Cox's cave shown in a reflecting pool
LocationCheddar
OS gridST46465390
Length100 m (330 ft)
Height variation18 m (59 ft)
Elevation23 m (75 ft)[1]
GeologyCarboniferous limestone
Show cave opened1838
LightingElectric
RegistryMendip Cave Registry[2]
Websitehttp://www.cheddargorge.co.uk/explore/coxs-cave

The cave is named after mill owner George Cox who discovered it in 1837, while quarrying limestone for a new building.[3][4] Cox immediately opened it as a show cave the following year and ran it as a private enterprise until landowner, Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath, took it over at the beginning of the 20th century.[5] It was connected by a tunnel to the adjacent artificial Pavey's Cave in 1987.[6]

The cave consists of seven small grottoes, joined by low archways. One section of the cave is known as the Home of the Rainbow, where traces of minerals have been brought in from the surface, and have given the stalagmites a wide range of colour, from nearly black, green, and orange to pure white. The famous French speleologist, Édouard-Alfred Martel, visited this cave and declared that "out of 600 caves, Cox's was admired the most".[7]

See also

References
  1. Gray, Alan; Taviner, Rob; Witcombe, Richard (2013). Mendip Underground, A Caver's Guide (Fifth ed.). Mendip Cave Registry and Archives. p. 104. ISBN 978-09531310-5-1.
  2. "Cox's Cave". Mendip Cave Registry & Archive. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  3. "Cox's Cave". Cheddar Caves. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  4. Johnson, Peter (1967). The History of Mendip Caving. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
  5. Thynn, Alexander (30 November 2002). Strictly Private to Public Exposure Book 1: The Early Years: Early Years Book 1 (Plateful of Privilege). Artnik. p. 52. ISBN 1-903906-24-5.
  6. Gray, Alan; Taviner, Rob; Witcombe, Richard (2013). Mendip Underground, A Caver's Guide (Fifth ed.). Mendip Cave Registry and Archives. p. 229. ISBN 978-09531310-5-1.
  7. "The Caves of Cheddar Gorge". Show Caves of Britain. Retrieved 2007-01-28.

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